Sunday, January 31, 2010

the having of a third baby ... may just lead to days when you allow your 5 1/2 year old and 2 1/2 year old to dress themselves. and you don't even care what they end up in.

case in point.

and remember. minnesota. in january. means lucky if the temp is actually in the single digits. at least the 2 1/2 year old remembered a sweater. (and it kinda actually matches the shirt that was put on under the dress. she gets bonus points.)

then again ... the having of a third baby also leads to moments like this ...

and this ...

i will gladly trade in fashion for scenes such as these.

remember ... there is always the ability to edit into black and white to disguise the mismatching of clothing.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

nothing like having a giant pregnant lady's belly glaring at you from your computer screen on a quiet afternoon, huh?

i can't believe i just posted that picture on here for the entire world of internets to see.

whew. i look a little bit like a house.

a few days ago ... husband saw me standing in the sunlight in my pajamas with that giant gourd of a belly hanging all out and grabbed my camera. if you looked really closely at the original picture ... you can see that he focused in on my b00b ... and the belly was a bit out of focus.

men.

it was nothing that a little editing and a conversion to black and white couldn't handle.

and after he took the picture ... he told me that it needed to be called ... sun / son.

well ... actually he didn't say the /. maybe he meant ... sun-son. or sun ... son. or potentially even (sun)(son).

i'm thinking he had an immediate thought that it was blog worthy material.

and i realize now ... that i absolutely need to record some of these things that are in my head before i go into labor and forget everything. because at this point in the game ... i absolutely just want to moan and complain and erase these last few weeks from my mind and body. but i need to force myself to remember the good little things too.

so here goes ... a letter to my unborn son ...

hey little guy.

i'm still kinda getting used to calling someone my son. it's hard. i was so expecting to be a mama to all girls. pink everywhere. dolls everywhere. drama ... everywhere.

and then you came along. a bit of a surprise ... but a good one. and the news that you were blue instead of pink threw us all for a loop. but we've gotten used to it.

and i've folded all of your clothes. and i've made you a quilt. and i've realized that the nursery that held both of my girls ... yet still maintains the same wall color ... is not periwinkle anymore ... it's blue. and it was just waiting for you.

we've all been waiting for you. we just didn't always know it.

people always say they knew when their family was complete. and i've felt so comfortable knowing that you are going to be the little blue caboose to our train. it feels just right. and good. and perfectly suitable for our little family.

i can't wait to know more about who you are. but here are my guesses about the person that you will be. and a little bit about the person that you already are.

... you don't like being squished during a contraction. i hope that indicates a person that doesn't want to be molded to be like what society wants them to be. an individual.

... you like to have your bottom rubbed. and when you had a bit more room than you have today ... your big sisters could rub my belly and you would wiggle over to where-ever their hand was ...

... you move most when you hear your sisters giggle. it's a good thing they do it so often.

... you are going to be so overwhelmingly loved. you are quickly approaching your entrance to a family with three mamas. get ready.

... you like chomping on ice. or i do. or maybe you like the sound of it ... i'm not sure. (it's one of the things that makes me so excited for labor. an ice machine just down the hall. it's the little things.)

... silly ... but i'm so intrigued to see your relationship with skye-dog. ever since we adopted her ... she's had this thing for little boys. she perks up when she sees them. i can't wait until she meets you. you'll love her ... i'm sure of it.

... i'm crabby. all the time. lately. and seriously? i'm not that kind of person usually ... i promise. c'mon out and i'll show you. there's something about the pain and pressure and fear that makes me louder than i usually am.

... i came across a quote and picture the other day that mentioned something about loving a son ... oh ... hold on ... i'll go look for it ... here it is ...

there has never been a day when i have not been proud of you,

i said to my son

though some days i’m louder about other stuff so it’s easy to miss that.

-- brian andreas

... i wanted to buy that picture ... but ... it'll have to wait. ... you will be handsome. just like your daddy. blonde haired, blue eyed. ... but if your personality is a little more mommy and a little less type a daddy ... i think we'll all be a little happier.... and i promise to buy you this someday. it's a little more my style than monster trucks and race cars.

and more than anything ...

know that you are loved.

it may have taken me a bit of getting used to the idea of boy. and it may have taken me awhile to realize that a little raspberry in the middle of my chocolate truffle might just be a good thing.

confused, yet?read what my friend pamela wrote to me on this post ... at a time when i was still tearing up at the idea of blue.

Pamela said... I was absolutely, positively, beyond a shadow of a doubt convinced Olivia was a boy. In fact, Jon announced, "It's an Olivia!!!" and I responded, "Check again."

And I love her. Obviously.

And I was hoping for a girl, being the only girl in my family, I wanted to see what the whole 'sister thing' was about.

Jack? is a boy.Henry? also boy.Elliott? yeah. XY.

Boys are like this: Say you're a chocolate lover, because, well, duh, of course you are. And you have your two little blue-eyed chocolate truffles that you savor day in and day out. You soak up their smell, you lick the melty goodness off your fingers.

Then, one day, someone offers you a chocolate truffle with a fruity inside. And you think, oh, no way, Jose, I really only love my chocolate truffles. How do they even get the smooth raspberry goodness in a truffle anyway?

But then, after a while, you find yourself being totally intrigued by the idea of having a little nom-nom on the raspberry truffle. And what do you know?!?!?! It's *ALSO* your favorite. But instead of being your favorite chocolate truffle, it's your favorite raspberry chocolate truffle.

Girls are nice, but there is nothing like a lovey boy child. Boys love them some mama, like nobody's business.

it still makes me cry.like right now.

i love you ... little boy blue. i always have and always will. i'll just have to get used to the trucks and baseballs and boy-ness.

so ... please? come on out soon so that i can hold your warmth in my arms. i'm ready for the challenge. i'm so ready for you. we all are.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

nesting.
completely. since 5 o' clock this morning.
so far (6 hours later) ... i've scrubbed the kitchen completely, organized the baby's room a bit more, dusted and washed all of the blinds in the dining room/kitchen, washed the baby clothing, washed walls and windows and baseboards ...

the bathroom is next ... along with the bedrooms.

the girls have been given the basement playroom job.

i regretfully declined a weekend away at cupcake '10 ... i was registered and everything ... and then last week finally decided that i couldn't leave. i was feeling overwhelmed with what i needed to do. and i wasn't feeling confident - my resolution for the year. the girls there are probably better off given my attitude today - i'm sure i would have been knocking on doors attempting to clean their rooms at dark o' thirty this morning. although i'm sad that i didn't get to meet so many amazing women.

and last night ... i made my husband feel horrible for working as a pilot. yeah ... so nice of me, huh? i was having contractions and feeling really lonely and worried and not confident about the having of a baby ... and the not knowing when. i didn't want to overwhelm anyone else ... because i'm one of those people that hates to bother others when i didn't know for sure what was happening and if anything would even happen. so instead i cried on the phone to my poor husband. who felt awfully guilty for being way out on the east coast as his poor pregnant wife is putting kids to bed and worrying about an upcoming baby.

and i figured in the midst of it all ...
it was time for a giveaway ... but one that is fun for me ... AND fun for you ... hopefully.

let's make some guesses about when baby boy blue will finally make his appearance!

in your comment ...
1. give me your best guess on date? -- both girls were 14 and 15 days early ... and my current due date is 2/11 (i know ... it seems kinda too far away.)
2. when?? morning/afternoon/middle of the night?-- stella was born at 4:28 pm and cora was born at 2:55 am.

closest guess by date will win a hand stamped silver necklace from me ...
i'll use the time of day if we have more than one guess on a particular date ...
and comments will be closed ... next sunday ... 1/17 in the evening ... or earlier ... if the baby decides to join us sooner!

what names or words would you like to have close to your heart on a day like today?

Friday, January 8, 2010

my birthday today ... and the upcoming birthday of i {heart} faces ...

where they challenged us to use their logo. in pictures.
and i've had so many ideas that i planned to do over my winter break ... and i didn't take the time to do anything but enjoy my family ...

so i hurried through and implemented some of my ideas ... today.
quickly.

here they are ...

my sister lulu ... yes ... the necklace was actually stamped with i {heart} faces ... but the font was a little faded for the picture ... so i bumped it up a bit ... (if anyone is interested ... the necklace could be for sale ... let me know!)

rainy ... the monster ... i mean cat ... playing around with the necklace ... he's cute ... in pictures.

and since the girly-girls weren't being too cooperative ... little boy blue gets his chance to shine on the blog ... and yes ... i actually took a picture of the picture ... kinda counts, doesn't it?

and the small print at the bottom of the page ...
“I am submitting this photo into the I Heart Faces logo photo contest. By entering, I am granting I Heart Faces LLC permission to consider my photo for use in the marketing and promotion of their website.”

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

i've been drooling over and investigating and begging for and researching a new lens for my camera.

after several months of feeling like i'm sitting at a stop light with my camera ... i thought i finally found my answer ... and it was a bit more affordable than what i really wanted (which was the 1.4).

a 50 mm 1.8

the morning of christmas eve ... we decided to snap a quick picture of ourselves doing our yearly tradition of coloring a page in our christmas coloring book ...

photographic evidence ... (but not the picture of us actually COLORING it ... because i kinda resemble a house in that picture) ...

and as we were setting the camera upon the tripod ... that was taller than me ... and hadn't yet seen the light of day ... jeremy asked me to get my other lens ... as i walked back into the kitchen/living room/dining room (yes ... it's a small house) ...

stella remarked ...

is that your new lens mommy?

and immediately got an oops look upon her face ...

and jeremy responded with ...

would you like to open your present now?

and inside the box was a

50 mm 1.4

yes ... the 1.4 ...

the one that i actually dreamt about and drooled over after deciding that i could actually only just afford the 1.8

(to all ye non-camera people out there ... i'm sorry about the boringness in this post)

want to see the difference?? ...

my favorite ornament with my old lens ...

crappity crappy picture ...

and the same ornament on the same tree at just about the same time of day...

taken with the newest love of my life ... i mean ... my new lens ...

and all along ... he had told me that he didn't get me anything for christmas ... he just didn't mention the fact that the kids got me something ...

and in case you are wondering ... i didn't get him anything either ... but the kids did ...

pajama pants from the girly-girls, two coke glasses from mcdonalds and the baby got matching t-shirts for daddy and him ... (and in case you are wondering ... the bumper says grateful dad ... baby's says his name ... i promise i'll share that with you soon ... )

and yes ... the baby room is decorated purely in vw camper vans ... because it was the only boyish non traditional thing i could come up with ... maybe i'll share that in the next post ... because at this point ... i can't wait to get the baby in there ... and outta here ...

all pictures will be taken with my new lens ... of course ... because i don't think it's ever coming off my camera.

if there was a gift giving award ... i totally didn't win it this year.

about me

i am the mommy of two little sunny girls and a delicious new baby boy. i am the wife to a fantastic husband. i am the head keeper to a zoo of pets.
i help kids to talk - as my oldest describes my job ... but (not so secretly) wish to stay at home with my girly-girls. i love to craft and be creative ... but often don't have the time (or energy). i love to cook and bake ... but we often sacrifice extravagent meals for easy ones. i love that i'm finally living the dream of being a professional photographer ... but i'm always learning and trying new things. i want my girly-girls to grow up and be amazing human beings ... but, for now, all i know is that they amaze ME daily.
oh yeah ... and i hate to type in capital letters. unless it is for emphasis. THEN i capitalize the ENTIRE word ... just thought you'd like to know. my shift key ISN'T broken.